RE: Low AHI - Still waking up
You do need an expert! But I'll observe, for other readers, that this machine does not have an auto mode.
Clevername, do you know why your settings are as they are? Your pressure support is pretty large and your EPAP is pretty low. I'm not suggesting these are in need of change -- just curious if you know the reasons behind the settings.
What are the reasons for the frequent breaks in use during the night?
Finally, something has caught my eye, and an expert might be able to interpret it. I see that there's a pause after you inhale and before you start to exhale; then after you exhale you segue right into your next inhalation. I believe the more usual pattern is for inhalation to move smoothly into exhalation, then for a pause to occur after exhalation and before the next inhalation. I'd be curious to learn more about your pattern.
Do you ever have the sense that you are being rushed to take your next breath? I ask because the information could help an expert to advise you about some of the settings you have at default.
RE: Low AHI - Still waking up
Soo thanks for replying, i didnt get back to you right away as i was just so frustrated of being sleep deprived. I ended up selling some stuff and getting a resmed airsense 10 autoset.
Your right about me breathing shallow. I do that normally during the day (noticed it more since i gained weight) and at night when i try to relax. Secondly i have ZERO clues why i wake up every 2.5 hours. I dont really GASP for air like i do without PAP or dream about being suffocated. I do know i have very light lucid dreams where im very aware of my breathing in the dream.
With that said, im going to set this auto pap on 7.5 - 17 and let it do its thing for a week. Then im going to start up a thread and see if we can fine tune it. I think having the Auto will help with at least a good starting point on what i need.
RE: Low AHI - Still waking up
I'm glad you have your new machine. For your new settings, be sure to include EPR of 3. I mention this because you are used to even more PS.
It is normal to wake up multiple times per night. What would be problematic would be spending a long time awake. If you just roll over and drift back to sleep, that isn't a problem in itself.
Your daytime symptoms are a problem, however, and so let's hold a good thought for your response to the new machine.
Just for future reference: it was less the shallowness of your breathing that I was noticing, and more the place where you pause (at the end of inhale, rather than the end of exhale).
Keep us posted!
RE: Low AHI - Still waking up
Going back to your last posted results, the main problem is of course a fragmented night of sleep. With pressure at 12/6.4 (PS 5.6 cm), your AHI is quite acceptable, and contrary to "having shallow breathing", your tidal volume at 560 mL, minute vent of 8.3 and respiration rate of 14 bpm is very good. One setting I would check with the VPAP-S is to ensure the Easybreathe feature is ON.
The close up of respiration gives us a clue on sleep disruption, and shows something I don't see very often, and am unsure how to resolve. You appear to have a normal inspiratory flow, but then briefly hold your breath before exhaling. You can see in the image below, following inspiration the flow falls to zero and stays there briefly before expiration. I don't know what is causing this pattern but perhaps being aware of it will help you avoid it.
I think your switch to a Resmed Airsense 10 will yield good results. Be sure to use EPR at 3, and consider a starting pressure of 9.0 which will result in the bilevel pressure equivalent of 9.0/6.0 and move up from there. I think your proposed pressure of 7.5 - 17.0 will result in a very low starting EPAP 7.5/4.5 -17/14. I would prefer you keep therapy information in this thread so we keep the history intact.
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=20966]](http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/attachment.php?aid=20966)
RE: Low AHI - Still waking up
A quick note on the image above, the flow rate would have much better resolution if you format the Y-axis and override the auto scaling with a minimum of -100 and maximum of +100 and include a dotted line at zero. This can be formatted by right-clicking the Flow Rate title and choosing y-axis and dotted line and making the changes.
